According To Plan
by Love's Symphony
Summary: AU: What if Emily survived? Will she get a second chance at love and Happily Ever After with Victor? Or will Victoria's appearance and Barkis' return ruin everything? Is Emily always fated to be the bridesmaid and never the bride? Victor/Emily
1. Unexpected Rescue

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS PURELY FANMADE. ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR RESPECTFUL OWNERS. PLEASE DON'T STEAL. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN USING ANY PART OF/OR ADOPTING THIS STORY, PLEASE PM ME FOR PERMISSION.

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Chapter 1: Unexpected Rescue

It was somewhere close to midnight, as far she could tell. Emily anxiously awaited her dashing fiancé, Lord Barkis Bittern. Her entire family was against their union, but all she knew w as that she was deeply in love with this man, and didn't care what her family said.

The wind sent chills down her spine and whipped her chocolate brown hair all about her face. People praised her on her beauty, and soon became the talk of the entire village. It bothered Emily that she was the center of attention all the time, it soon became extremely annoying. She had many suitors come and ask for her hand, but she was a hopeless romantic, and only wanted to marry for love.

When Lord Barkis came to town, Emily instantly fell head over heels for him. He had promised her wealth and affection, and Emily was certain that this was the man she was going to marry. Unfortunately, her family thought otherwise. For reasons unknown to her, Emily's family greatly disapproved of him. Their dislike was so great, that they forbade her from ever seeing Barkis again.

Heartbroken, Emily was certain that she was seeing something that her family was oblivious to. So, she and Barkis decided to elope that very night. Emily had taken her mother's wedding dress to wear for the ceremony and some of the family's money to help pay for the carriage ride out of town. After the rest of her family was asleep, Emily slipped out of the house in the dark of night, and into the woods to meet her future husband.

So there she waited, until she saw a dark figure emerge into the woods.

"Barkis, is that you?" Emily whispered, careful not to alert anyone else who may be out late at night.

She received no reply, as the figure continued slowly moving towards her. When the figure finally came into the light of the moon, she saw that it was indeed Barkis, with a knife raised above his head.

"Barkis, what are you doing?" Emily shrieked, backing away from him, only to back up into the tree behind her.

"Goodbye my dear, you were never the one for me, and you never will be." He said, with an evil grin on his face.

Emily shut her eyes and waited for the final blow, but it never. Instead, she heard a voice cry out, one that she knew all too well.

"Hey, Barkis!" The voice yelled.

Emily reopened her eyes when she heard a loud thud. There right before her, was Barkis laying unconscious on the ground, a big gash on the back of his head and blood trickling down his body, coating the snow below him in a sea of red.

Emily looked around to see who her savior was. It was none other than, her sister.

"Violet!" Emily exclaimed.

Violet turned towards her little sister's voice, and flashed her one of her uniqe smiles. One that said, "I told you so, but I still love you anyway."

Emily slowly walked over towards her sister, knowing she was going to get an earful when they returned home. They both watched as Barkis was taken away. After Barkis' body disappeared from view, Emily turned towards her sister.

"How did you know?" Emily simply asked.

"I knew something was wrong with him, and when I saw you go into mom's closet without her permission, I knew something suspicious was going on. So, I followed you." Violet explained.

"Thank you dear sister, if it weren't for you, I'd probably be dead right now."

Violet smiled, "What are big sisters for?"

Emily smiled back as they exited the woods, heading home. As they walked, Emily noticed that there was dried blood on her sister's hand.

"Violet?"

"Yes dear sister?"

"Did you hit Lord Barkis in the back of the head?"

Violet heaved a heavy sigh, "Yes Emily, I did."

"You know it's not lady-like to hit a man." Emily semi-scolded.

Violet smirked, "Ah, but you forget dear sister, I am not a lady."


	2. Consequences and Sisterly Bonds

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS PURELY FANMADE. ALL RIGHTS GO TO THEIR RESPECTFUL OWNERS. PLEASE DON'T STEAL. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN USING ANY PART OF/OR ADOPTING THIS STORY, PLEASE PM ME FOR PERMISSION.

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Chapter 2: Consequences and Sisterly Bonds

Soon enough, Emily and Violet found themselves at the front door of their modest home. Emily dreaded what was to come as soon as she walked through that door. Violet turned towards her sister, looking deep into her eyes, seeking confirmation that she was ready to enter the house.

Emily reluctantly gave her sister a slight nod in response. She gave a heavy sigh, as she mentally prepared herself for the scolding she was going to, no doubt receive as soon as she stepped foot in that house.

Violet opened the door as quietly as she could, but still couldn't prevent the door from letting a rather loud screeching sound. The girls froze, listening for the footsteps of their parents.

"Thought you could sneak out behind our backs, did you," said a shrill voice, one that could only belong to their mother.

The two girls turned around to see two shadows standing at the top of the staircase. Then, two candles were lit to reveal the angry, yet stern looks on their parent's faces.

Their mother looked furious. Their father still had a stern look on his face, but his eyes were gentle. He seemed to have a soft spot for his daughters, but still kept a firm hand when it was necessary.

"We told you that you were never to see him again…" their mother began, "Yet, you deliberately disobeyed us."

Emily bowed her head, not wanting to look her mother in the eye. She turned to face their father. Her eyes pleaded him for assistance, but her attention returned to her present situation when she heard her mother address Violet.

"Did you have something to do with this?" she asked, her arms folded across her chest.

Violet opened her mouth to respond, but was stopped short when Emily spoke up instead. It was the first time she spoke during the entire conversation.

"No Mother!" Emily yelled.

Their mother stared at her youngest daughter. Emily had never raised her voice at her before. She looked from one daughter to the other, awaiting further explanation.

"She was there to take me back home," Emily began.

Their mother turned to Violet, her eyes asking her if it was true. Violet nodded in return.

"In fact, she saved me," Emily added.

"Saved you?" her father asked, "What do you mean?"

Finally, Violet spoke, "Barkis tried to kill her."

"WHAT?!" their parents exclaimed. A combination of anger and shock was laced into their voices.

Emily nodded. She still couldn't believe that Barkis tried to kill her. She thought that he had loved her, but he had made his feelings clear when he intended to stab her. Emily tried to hold back the tears that threatened to escape from her eyes. Feelings of sadness and betrayal consumed her, until she felt nothing but emptiness.

"Yes, if it wasn't for her, I'd be dead right now," she said solemnly.

Violet put a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder and produced her handkerchief to wipe away the tears that had suddenly appeared on her little sister's cheeks.

"Well, we're just glad you're both safe," their father replied, his eyes returning to their natural, gentle gaze.

"But that doesn't change the fact that you disobeyed us," said the stern voice of their mother, returning Emily to the harsh reality she was about to face.

Emily nodded her head, finally ready to face the consequences.

"You are confined to this house. Your father and I will decide the length of your punishment," her mother said.

All Emily could do was nod and hang her head, her eyes tracing the patterns on the floor.

"Now, go straight to your room young lady. It's late, and we all need our sleep," she added.

Emily then proceeded to trudge up to her room, but stopped when she heard her sister whisper to her,

"Don't worry Em, I'll try to soften them up."

Emily let a small smile creep across her face before she continued up the stairs towards her room. Violet tried to follow her up the stairs, but was stopped by her parents.

"Violet, you need to tell us what happened," her father pleaded.

Violet sighed, then sat down and proceeded to tell her parents of what had transpired in the woods.

XXX

After what seemed like hours of lying awake and occasional sob or two, Emily heard a soft knock on her door, followed by Violet's muffled voice,

"Hey Em, it's me, open up."

"Come in," Emily replied, her voice just above a whisper. But apparently it was loud enough for her sister to hear.

Violet stepped into her little sister's room, the door squeaking as it pivoted on its old and rusty hinges. Both Violet and Emily covered their ears until there was nothing but silence. Then Violet turned around and quietly shut the door behind her.

"You know they're just trying to protect you, right?" Violet asked, sitting down on the bed next to her young sister.

"Yes, I know," Emily replied.

"They just don't want to lose you. They almost did tonight." She said.

The next thing she said had nothing but sincerity in it, "And neither do I."

Her eyes conveyed a level of honesty that Emily had never seen before. Then again, they made a point to at least try to be honest with each other. Tonight was one of the exceptions of course, but she was thankful her sister had been there for her when she was in desperate need of help. This fact did not escape their conversation.

"I talked to mom and dad," she began, "and they agreed that as long as I am there to keep a close eye on you, you are free to leave the house."

Emily could feel some of her emotions returning as a bubble of happiness swelled up inside her, but stopped when she saw Violet raise her hand to tell her to calm down,

"But you can't sneak off, I'll be watching you at all times."

Emily decided she could live with that. As long as she could be in the outside world, she was happy.

They exchanged a comforting hug before Violet got up and went to her room to get some sleep.

Emily felt a sensation of warmth envelope her before she finally fell asleep.


End file.
